Hazy Mist Dragon
by Yuriwriter
Summary: Kasumi Tendo has been hiding a few secrets of her own, secrets that could get her killed if she' not careful. A clan of Ninjas happen to have an interest in her and will stop at nothing to keep her from telling... A little dark at times but i think i'll r


Hazy-Mist Dragon  
  
Ok let me explain what this story is about. This is a story starring Kasumi, my favorite character. Also this is a dark fic dealing with suggestions of rape, which is something I do NOT condone. Basically this is my one bash your favorite character by putting them in horrible situations fic, and probably my last. This WILL have a happy ending or I'll hurt myself! Also this deals with girl-girl pairings, like always.  
  
I got this idea while reading a book I found at this old yard sale. I don't know the name of the book, sorry. Flame me if you must, I don't mind. Personally I think I deserve them, and I haven't even written anything yet!  
  
R&R is welcome, flames will be considered before I bash my head into a wall.  
  
Disclaimer- ROSE DIES!!! WAHHHHHHHHH!!!! IT'S NOT FAIR!!!! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE HER??? WAHHHH!!!! [Ahem. I just beat legend of dragoon, which probably is another reason I started this story. Also characters except for the ninja clan do not belong to me.]  
  
  
  
Hazy-Mist Dragon  
  
By Yuri_Writer.  
  
  
  
Silently she crept through the shadows, sticking close to the wall and far out of sight. She was like a living shadow, moving only as fast as necessary. Anything more and she would be caught. She was good at this, at stealth, as all in her clan should be. Failing at this would mean that she was nothing, and she would be beaten for failing to do her job. She was almost to her target, the center of the sparsely lit castle.  
  
Looking around carefully she spotted the last door in her way. Quickly and quietly she knelt next to it so she could check it over before attempting to unlock it. It would not do to have the alarms go off while she was so deep within enemy territory. Finding nothing to set off any traps or alarms upon its opening, she set to work picking the heavy lock.  
  
A few seconds after she began the stealthy figure was rewarded with a click; she put away her tools and quickly slipped the door open enough for her to squeeze through undetected. Upon entering the doorway she shut the door and hid in the corner nearest her, looking for any traps that would give her away. Spotting none she crept forward slowly, and was rewarded with pain as a heavy and blunt object knocked her out.  
  
Waking up was painful, and she guessed that another beating was in store for her later. Why shouldn't it be, she had failed to complete her test and thus she needed more training, which in turn meant more 'discipline'. All who failed were beaten severely before training began again. She was slowly becoming used to this fact as it had happened several times over the past few years. She was lucky though, as she had already surpassed the others her age, and she would be given more leniency, as she was the best in her group.  
  
She was a ninja, and stealth was her life. All of the others were also ninjas, though of course they were still in training before they could claim that title from the Master. Whether she had wanted it or not she was a part of this clan, and that meant following rules to the letter. Hell, her mother had been the best before an accident caused her to become weakened. She had left with the promise of her first child to the service of the clan when she had come of age.  
  
That wasn't supposed to be for another three years though, when she would be eleven. However, her mother had died from cancer and she was kidnapped to fulfill the promise at age six. She was eight now and in two years she would be of age for training with the Master of the clan. She was afraid.  
  
Without warning pain erupted all over her body as several black clad figures began to beat her with sticks. Fighting back would worsen it later, so she simply took it in stride fighting to stay conscious. Blacking out would mean more pain later as well. Eventually the pain stopped and she was left alone in the dark cell of a room. A voice spoke to her icily as she began her decent into peaceful oblivion.  
  
"You are good…but will you survive me?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Nerima was restless in the hot, balmy evening of the approaching summer months. Many were sleeping somewhat restlessly as they attempted to keep themselves cool, by sleeping above their blankets or with their windows open. This was especially true of the occupants of one of the better-known houses of the Tokyo suburb.  
  
Ranma was in his girl form after having decided to douse himself in ice water before bed, and Genma slept outside in his panda form trying to keep the heat down. Even the girls were sleeping in little more than a tank top and boxers as the wind blew through their bedrooms from their open windows. They had managed to drift off into peaceful, if not warm slumber, when a scream woke them up.  
  
It was not the normal screams of the night that came from Ranma's many challengers, such as Ryoga or Panty-Hose Taro, but a scream of fear. By the time Ranma had made it to the hallway trying to see who had screamed it had stopped. Looking at the others he quickly came to the same conclusion as the rest of this impromptu family, something had scared Kasumi enough to make her scream. And with the things she saw on a daily basis, this was saying quite a bit.  
  
Kasumi woke up screaming in fear, and covered in a cold sweat. It had been years since something had scared her so much, and yet the dream that was not a dream had frightened her to the point of passing out. Only she couldn't pass out because she was already asleep, so she simply screamed. After a few seconds she regained enough composure to remember where she was and let herself calm down.  
  
Judging by the frantic scrabbling sounds in the hall she had woken the others with her nightmare. 'It was just a bad dream… that's all. What happened happened but I'm ok now. It was just a dream…'  
  
Kasumi continued to repeat her soothing mantra even as her door was flung open and her family rushed in. "Kasumi! Is everything all right? Are you ok?" Ranma asked as he hopped over to her bed in one quick jump. Her father and sisters right behind him even as he began checking her over for injuries. This seemed to cause a little more stress than was normal.  
  
"I'm fine… it… it was just a bad dream, that's all." Kasumi quickly explained as she covered herself a little better, after all she was only wearing a tank top and her underwear.  
  
"My poor baby is having nightmares from the past!" Soun began to wail as was wont going from wail number 2578 * my poor girl is afraid* to wail number 3001 *why is this happening * in a matter of seconds.  
  
"You sure you're ok Onee-chan?" Nabiki asked concern on her face. 'Anything that can scare Kasumi like that has got to be frightening.'  
  
"Yes, I'm positive. But… could you please leave Ranma, Mr. Saotome, father? I'm not quite decent at this moment." Kasumi asked hesitantly as Ranma realized exactly what she meant and began to blush beet red. Akane just shooed them out into the hall and closed the door behind them.  
  
"You want to talk about your dream sis?"  
  
"Not really Nabiki… actually I can barely remember why it was so scary in the first place." Kasumi said, a frown making its way to her face.  
  
"Most dreams are like that. Well if your alright I really gotta *yawn * get back to bed. There's a math test tomorrow. Night onee-chan!" Akane said before she left the room, Nabiki following her shortly after with a 'sweet dreams!'.  
  
'Sorry I have to lie imouto, but if I told you the truth we'd all be in trouble.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was a normal day at the Tendo-Ke thus far. Everyone had woken up at varying times of the morning and either gone to school or decided to lounge around the house. Kasumi had chosen to do chores out side in the quickly warming weather; she was dressed in shorts and a tee shirt. The dream had been pushed to the back of her mind as she began her daily chores. She managed to finish them with enough time left over for her own devices. She decided to go train for an hour or two in the nearby woods.  
  
It was close to the end of the day when she came back. Kasumi was in the kitchen preparing dinner later than usual when the fight broke out. Happosai had decided to drop in with his usual bag of 'loot' and had tried to force Ranma to wear one of his more prized possessions. Then all hell broke loose as one by one his various fiancées and enemies began to make an appearance.  
  
In all the confusion of the massive free for all against Ranma, it was no surprise that Happosai began to use his 'Happo fire bombs' against the others. What was surprising however, was the fact that Ranma had dodged the one that counted. The one that went through the kitchen window.  
  
The explosion rocked the house and lit up the night, as gasses from the stove caused the small firecracker to effectively cause a good sized fireball. Of course the second the explosion hit every single martial artist in the vicinity froze like deer in the headlights. A second later Soun's wailing and Nabiki's cry alerted them to the mistake they had made.  
  
"Kasumi!"  
  
"Onee-chan!"  
  
As one, several of the most powerful martial artists in the world began working together to help rescue the innocent bystander. Happosai, Shampoo, Cologne, Mousse, Ryoga and Panty-Hose Taro begin putting out the small fire that threatens to burn the house to the ground, while Ranma and Ukyo dive into the small blaze to retrieve the now unconscious Kasumi.  
  
As Ranma looks about he notices that the damage to the kitchen is minimal, and it seems that the blast was mostly energy waves. Kasumi is half buried beneath the various kitchen utensils on the far side of the kitchen. A large crack behind her shows where she impacted, the size of the crack frightens the two martial artists. Working quickly they uncover her and drag her out into the yard.  
  
Within fifteen minutes the blaze was out and Dr. Tofu was checking on Kasumi who happened to be lying in her bed. "So how is she doc?" Ranma and Akane asked at almost the same instant.  
  
"She should be fine with a little rest. From what I can see it seems she has a slight concussion and a few mild burns. Aside from some bruising she'll be perfectly fine."  
  
"Thanks for coming so quick."  
  
"It was nothing. I'm just surprised that one of your fights went so far Ranma. You should be ashamed." Tofu admonished the young man, and then he turned to Happosai. "You too! It was your attack that caused the explosion Happosai. If not for you Kasumi would not have had the chance to get hurt. I should hope you would all apologize."  
  
"Don't worry about that, I admit it was mostly my fault she was injured. And I have already decided to leave for a little while after she has woken up." This statement threw them for a loop, as Happosai was NEVER known to accept the blame.  
  
"I'll apologize once she's up. That way she can beat me over the head with Akane's mallet for wrecking her kitchen." Ranma joked half heartedly trying to lighten the mood. A few moments of awkward silence prompted them all to leave her alone to get better; of course it took a while to remove the blubbering Soun.  
  
As Ranma turned to leave a soft voice caught his attention. Kasumi was muttering something in her sleep. Ranma could only make out a few words, but they held little meaning to him as they were in Chinese. Perhaps he would ask Cologne.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Authors notes: I can't speak Chinese so don't ask.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next day was rather uneventful in the eyes of most Nerima residents. No major fights broke out, no underwear was stolen, and no explosions rocked the heavens. To put it lightly, Kasumi was bored. She had woken up while the others were at school, and had to be forced to stay in bed and rest. Doctor's orders, Feh.  
  
Being bored was not something Kasumi was good at; normally to stay sane she would do even the most menial chores. Which is perhaps why she derived so much satisfaction from them. Also, she was pissed. Anyone who has not known Kasumi for a long time would not be able to tell. When she had found out what happened from Happosai directly, she had resorted to one of her sister's favorite techniques. Malleting the Baka into the stratosphere. She might be a little more lenient on Ranma, maybe.  
  
'Aghh. I'm going nuts! I wish SOMETHING would happen.' Kasumi began to fidget. 'As if I can't take being thrown into a wall. I've survived worse at half my age.' She began to stare long and hard into space and remained this way for several moments, lost deep in her thoughts.  
  
As the others just began to file into the yard intent on seeing if she was all right, Kasumi became agitated. "ARGHHHH!!! LET ME OUT OF MY ROOM!!! PLEASE, I'M GOING INSANE!!!"  
  
Ranma and the other high-powered martial artists of Nerima, minus Ryoga, Cologne, Happosai and Taro, lifted their heads at the rather agitated shout from the house. Nabiki just shook her head in defeat, figuring that their father had had to resort to locking her Onee-chan in her room. "Well, I'd say she's awake. Time to apologize."  
  
And with that they all trudged into the dojo waiting their verbal punishments.  
  
As her father came upstairs, Kasumi was busy deciding what she wanted to do more, jump out her window or bust down her door. Soun opening the door took this decision from her. "Kasumi dear, I know you don't like being locked in but it's for your own good. How else are we going to make you rest properly?"  
  
"But father, I'm fine. I just need something to keep me occupied during the day and my chores do that for me. You know that."  
  
"Yes I do. Listen, everyone else has just come home and they're waiting for you in the dojo." Soun said as he went to lay a calming hand on his daughters shoulder. Only to find her on her way out the door and down the stairs, a mallet in hand. 'I'm just glad she hasn't actually SEEN the kitchen yet.'  
  
Of course what Soun has forgotten is that the kitchen is on the way to the dojo. He was only reminded of this fact by the yell from downstairs several seconds later.  
  
"Hmmm? Hey what's that?" Ranma asked no one in particular as the sound of running could be heard, shortly followed by a muffled scream. That it was muffled did not hide the fact that the owner was extremely angry at the cause. 'Uh oh!'  
  
"MY KITCHEN!!!" Several people had sweat drops accumulating on their heads. Akane and Nabiki just gave each other odd looks and ran for cover, just as the door opened to reveal a pissed Kasumi holding a large glowing mallet. "HOLD IT! You two don't go anywhere! Now, will someone PLEASE tell me… WHAT IN KAMI"S NAME HAPPENED TO MY KITCHEN!"  
  
"[When did Kasumi learn to use a mallet?]" Xian-pu asked Msu-tsu in their native tongue, voicing the thoughts of Ukyo."[I thought that was Akane's trick.]"  
  
"[It was mine first, Xian-pu. I simply stopped using it when I stopped in the art. That doesn't mean I can't use it now.]" Kasumi cut in calmly as she stalked her little sisters around the dojo trying to get the story out of Nabiki.  
  
"Oh come on sis. It wasn't my fault! Ask Ranma! He's the one who was fighting Happosai when it happened!"  
  
"Hey! Listen Kasumi I'm really…" Ranma looked up just in time for his head to meet with Kasumi's mallet with a resounding CRACK. "…Sorry…ugh."  
  
"I feel much better! Thank you very much for your time." Kasumi turned to leave after handing Akane back the borrowed mallet  
  
"Feeling better sis?"  
  
"Yes, very much so Nabiki. It's just I've been stuck in my room all-day, bored out of my mind and unable to sleep. I gave up trying to sneak downstairs to clean after father caught me jumping out of the window." Kasumi said exasperated, trying to explain her mood to everyone at once. "Sorry if I worried any of you." And with that she left to go clean.  
  
"Are we sure that hit to the head didn't fry your sisters brain?" Ranma asked Nabiki, ignoring the scowl he got from Akane.  
  
"Positive. But at least she mellowed out over the years, unlike Akane. Sometimes when she gets excessively bored she'll get moody. She's been like that since she came home after that one time."  
  
"I don't remember her being gone Nabiki." Akane said to her other sister as the groups began to talk in the dojo.  
  
"Yeah, she was gone for a few years for some reason. After mom died she sort of disappeared and then a few years later she came home. I don't remember much else about that time though."  
  
"How Violent-girls sister know Chinese?" Shampoo asked the mercenary in her broken speech.  
  
"I'm not sure. But give it a few days and she'll be fine. Oh, and Ranma. Try and stay on her good side for the next few days."  
  
"Trust me, I will."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Several hours had passed since Kasumi had gotten angry and had malleted Ranma. He had tried to offer his help with cleaning the kitchen, but before he had even gotten within ten feet of the door a large mallet had sailed from the kitchen and into his face. It was accompanied by Kasumi calmly stating that, '… if you EVER come near my kitchen again, I promise you SHALL regret it!'  
  
Needless to say this had prompted the young martial artist to go elsewhere for dinner, along with the majority of the rest of the household. He had managed to smuggle a free meal out of both Ukyo and Shampoo, as well as talk to the old ghoul about what Kasumi had said.  
  
***Flashback***  
  
"Hey Cologne. I got a question for ya. Do you know what this means?" Ranma had asked the older martial arts master as he sat at the bar eating his ramen.  
  
Handing her a piece of paper with some writing on it he proceeded to dig in, only to begin choking as Xian-pu gave him a bear hug from behind. "Airen! You come to date with Shampoo, yes?"  
  
"Ca-an't Brea-th…"  
  
"Sorry… you date with Shampoo, yes?"  
  
"Not right now Shampoo. I'm tryin' to ask the old bat here about something I heard the other day." Ranma said to the sulking Amazon even as he turned back to the woman in question. "So, do you know what it means?"  
  
"Let me see here… hmmm… Exactly what did you write this with son-in-law, a chicken's foot? I can barely make out what this says." Cologne waved the paper limply at Ranma.  
  
"Well if you can't maybe someone else can…"  
  
"I'm not done. Just give me a moment to analyze this." Thus saying Cologne pulled out a magnifying glass, some paper and a pen. Ranma simply sweat dropped at the implied atrocity of his handwriting.  
  
It took a moment but finally Cologne spoke up. "Where did you hear about this? The last time I heard about the Dragon Master was when I was a young pup." Mirth and amusement laced the elder's words.  
  
"Actually, Kasumi said it when she was knocked out the other day. I was just wonderin' what she was saying." Ranma said with a shrug, completely missing the frown that had made its way to her face.  
  
"Boy! Do not lie to me! There is no way that Kasumi knows about the Dragon's Clan, unless she is hiding something from all of us!" Both Ranma and Shampoo were amazed at the venom that had entered her words.  
  
"Yo! What's wrong? Is it bad that she said that? I mean she MIGHT have said something else but I'm pretty sure that was it."  
  
"It seems we need to have a chat with Miss Tendo." Unnoticed to all of them a silent figure slunk away from the conversation and out into the night.  
  
'Why did you have to be careless Kasumi-Chan? Now the master will want to speak with you.'  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
As of now the three of them were headed back to the Tendo-Ke intent on asking Kasumi a few questions. Ranma was worried. Was something bad going to happen to Kasumi, the nicest person he knew? Was she in trouble? Did he just imagine something where there was nothing? He would know soon enough, with the help of the Amazon war-leader.  
  
Ranma didn't know what to expect when he returned home with the others. Akane would probably mallet him again, if Kasumi didn't see him first. Who would have guessed that she was the one that taught Akane that? Also there was the possibility she was passed out from overexertion with the chore of cleaning her kitchen. 'She'll probably mallet me.' Ranma wasn't exactly sure WHOM he was talking about.  
  
Kasumi was busy cleaning up the mess that was her kitchen. To say she was ticked off would be quite an understatement. After all it's not everyday that your pride and joy gets demolished with you in it. 'I have got to calm down. It wasn't Ranma's fault- well ok it was. But he didn't cause it to happen on purpose. It was an accident, and it's really not fair of me to hit him like that.'  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening to be followed by a shout of 'Tadaima!' from Ranma. Akane and the rest of the family had come home over an hour ago, but she wasn't surprised that he had come home late. However the fact that two very powerful martial artists were with him _did _ surprise her.  
  
'I wonder who's with Ranma.' Doing her best to look cheery Kasumi walked out of the kitchen to greet her guests, only to be stopped cold by the look in Cologne's eyes.  
  
Cologne wondered exactly how the oldest Tendo girl would react if she just came outright and asked about her connection with Clan Dragon. Then she thought better of it; after all if she said anything she could be killed for admitting it to them. That was how the clan worked. Instead she opted for something better, a look. She was satisfied to see the girl stop in her tracks the second she saw her. 'This will be easier than it seemed.'  
  
'What is great grandmother playing at? Why would she want to talk to Kasumi? This is to hard to understand.' Xian-pu was interested in her grandmother's reaction to what Ranma had said earlier about Kasumi.  
  
"Grandmother? Why we here?" Xian-pu asked first causing the frozen girl to begin moving once more.  
  
"We are here to discuss something with Miss Tendo. If she would?"  
  
"Why do you want to see my sister?" Nabiki asked from her spot at the table.  
  
"Oh! Where are my manners, please come in. I would offer you some tea but a recent event has more or less destroyed the kitchen." Kasumi spoke ushering them into the dining room, despite Akane's protests.  
  
"Yes, as I heard. Are you ok yourself? I had thought you had left a rather large crack in the wall where you had hit?" Cologne noticed that Soun had begun to quietly wail about his daughter's health from his spot.  
  
"I… suppose that is true. But really I am quite fine, if not a little agitated that the event occurred in the first place." Kasumi spoke trying to keep herself calm. The twitch that was quickly forming above her right eye kind of ruined it though. The twitch was enough to deter Akane and Soun who quickly decided it best to leave. They grabbed Genma and got while the going was good.  
  
"Really Kasumi, I said I was sorry! I meant it too! I promise I'll help clean-"  
  
"No! I mean… that's quite all right. Just please stay AWAY from the kitchen for now, if you will." Kasumi's eye began to twitch just a little more noticeably as she said this. Cologne for her part was barely managing to keep from laughing at the sight. It was plainly obvious that Kasumi wanted the boy to keep as far away from her domain as possible. Even Xian-pu was trying not to laugh at her 'Airen's' distress.  
  
"But-" Ranma was cut off. Nabiki felt sorry for the kid, really she did. Which was why she wasn't taking pictures of this.  
  
"PLEASE Ranma! I really do not feel like arguing at this moment. If you can't understand what I mean to say is, _ STAY AWAY FROM MY KITCHEN! _" At this both amazons did burst out laughing, since it was common knowledge that Kasumi was the sweetest person in Nerima and thus hard to anger. The fact that this boy was one of the first to do so simply sent them to stitches, even as he ran for the door in fear.  
  
"I see that you are upset over the loss of your kitchen. That does not surprise me in the least. If I were you I'd have already pounded some sense into him." Cologne stated after they had calmed down a bit. The fact that both Xian-pu and Nabiki burst into laughter as well as Kasumi turning bright red was not lost on her.  
  
"Um… I sort of had him meet Mr. Mallet."  
  
"A mallet? Isn't that Akane's weapon of choice?"  
  
"Well I suppose it is now. It used to be my own weapon of choice when I still practiced the art. The last time I used it before this was to teach Akane how to do it as well." Kasumi spoke with a rather straight face, even though she was blushing horribly. Cologne simply stared at the youth before her trying to imagine the scene. She just couldn't do it, so she let it go to get back to the task at hand.  
  
"I'll have to take your word for it my dear. However I came here to talk with you about something that son-in-law told me. He had mentioned that you had said something when you were unconscious after the destruction of your kitchen. I don't suppose you would know what that is?" Cologne told the woman, judging her reaction. It seemed to be genuine surprise.  
  
"I said something? I don't recall it, but then again I was unconscious at the time. Do you happen to know what it is I said?" Kasumi was all curiosity, and fear. If she said something she shouldn't have…  
  
"[You speak Chinese correct?]"  
  
"[Yes. I learned it a while ago.]" Now Kasumi was bursting with curiosity as to where this conversation was going. "[Why do you ask?]"  
  
"[Do you know of a certain clan of Ninjas located in China? They are known as clan dragon.]" Cologne watched the girl carefully trying to gauge her reactions.  
  
Kasumi froze, and then quickly unfroze knowing that the woman was trying to read her reactions. She opted to look like she was thinking as she began to sort out her problem.  
  
"[I'm afraid I have never heard of them. Should I have?]"  
  
Cologne looked at her quizzically, trying to discern the truth. She spent several minutes in silence until Kasumi decided to end this now. "I am sorry if I have never heard of your ninja clan, but if you don't mind I really must go back to cleaning my kitchen if we want to eat tomorrow."  
  
As she stood and turned to leave Cologne finally spoke, her voice icy. "Do not attempt to deceive me girl. I know you are lying through your teeth." Both Nabiki and Shampoo stared at the old woman as if she had grown three heads.  
  
'What gives that ghoul the right to come in here and accuse _ KASUMI _ of lying?' Nabiki asked herself, angry at the old woman's tone.  
  
"Well if you know that, then you also must know why. Or are you attempting to put us all in danger?" Her statement threw Nabiki for a loop. Kasumi actually admitted to Lying? And what was that about danger?  
  
"You are better at this than I would have thought. But no, I wish no harm to anyone but one man. I believe you know 'Him' as well?" Nabiki could almost hear the capitals as cologne spoke. This was getting interesting. And from the look Shampoo had on her face she didn't have a clue either.  
  
"I have no intention of EVER speaking with 'Him' again, if that satisfies your question? Now I really must return to my work, if you would please leave?" Kasumi turned around once more as she began to head for the kitchen.  
  
"Touché Miss Tendo. I see we should speak more often." Cologne motioned to her granddaughter to stand when someone began to clap from the doorway to the kitchen.  
  
"Yes, that was an EXCELLENT conversation. You two are VERY good… you have even managed to keep the others in this very room from understanding the topic of your, discussion." The person was male, as was obvious by the deep voice and flat chest. He was dressed as a ninja would, his mask lowered so you could see his face. His arms were crossed at the chest as he watched the people in the room.  
  
Nabiki watched this newcomer like a hawk. She didn't like the way he kept looking at Kasumi every few seconds, and the fact that her sister had gone pale and rigid was another reason not to like him. "Who-"  
  
"Nabiki, Be quiet!" Kasumi hissed cutting off her sister before she could cause an incident. Turning back to the newcomer she studied him carefully, finally deciding that he was indeed not here for a fight as she had first guessed. "What are you here for, messenger?"  
  
"It seems you remember the laws quite well after so long. I credit your memory Kasumi-Chan. Indeed I am only a messenger, and by my laws if any aggressive action is acted against me you will be tried for treason by my clan." He spoke to the two amazons behind Kasumi, making the tensed Shampoo wary of her actions.  
  
"I repeat, what are you here for?"  
  
"A message for you from our Master. He wishes to speak with you about your behavior as of late. It seems you finally screwed up." The messenger sneered at Kasumi, watching as she became even paler and began to shake slightly from fear. "Here is your official summons. If you do not comply… well, you know what happens to traitors."  
  
Kasumi took the scroll and quickly unrolled it and began to read what was written.  
  
Kasumi Dragon Apprentice- you have spoken of the clan and as is written in our laws you are to be tried and punished for your treason. There shall be one chance to redeem your self through physical challenge against clan master. If you do not comply measures will be taken to ensure you never speak again. As I have said before to you, the youngest of my heirs, "You are good… but will you survive me?"  
  
"Kasumi, what's wrong?" Nabiki was worried; her sister had started reading the message and had begun to shake as tears streamed from her face. She was scared, and it showed at least to anyone observant enough to notice.  
  
Finally it seemed she was done reading as she rolled the scroll and returned it to the man, who simply smirked at her hatefully. Then he began to gloat, and that pissed of Nabiki. "It seems you're a screw up after all, huh? What the master saw in you I'll never guess. Its just a shame that his last living heir is to be tried at his feet-"  
  
"Go away." It was silent, but he heard it. Somehow the annoying man realized that if he kept it up he would probably get into a fight with the chosen heir. Really, he didn't want that as if he started the fight the laws wouldn't protect him.  
  
"Humph. I might as well. We leave tomorrow. See ya Kasumi-Chan. I'll be there when you lose!" With that the annoying man left, quickly jumping over their heads and out the open door.  
  
Shampoo had listened intently to the man's words as he talked with Kasumi. From what she could gather this guy had known Kasumi for a while, and he didn't like her. But why? She also heard him say something about her being an heir, the last LIVING heir to be precise. What was going on?  
  
As she watched the man leave she noticed from the corner of her eye that Nabiki was glowing with a blue battle aura, much like Akane did when she was angry. 'She must be mad at that guy. I think he was Ninja of some type.' A thud quickly caught her attention. As she turned to watch Kasumi, who had slumped to the floor, she was amazed to see the girl cry out and punch her fist straight through the solid beam of the doorway.  
  
'She stronger than she looks.'  
  
Kasumi was angry, and scared at the same time. For whatever reason she had been summoned to see 'Him', and after she had just said she would never want to do so again. That stupid messenger had even begun to gloat, letting out more information in a few minutes than she had over nine years. She knew that her family had been listening in from the other side of the wall, and that man had just put them all in danger!  
  
Anger and fear began to meld together causing a haze to fill her mind as she slumped to the floor, trembling. With an inarticulate cry she punched out at the nearest section of wall causing her fist to shatter the thick wooden doorframe to the kitchen. Of course at the sound of her angry scream the rest of her family came running into the room to see what had happened.  
  
Judging by the different gasps of astonishment they were surprised at her fist being stuck through the doorway. Carefully she pulled it from the wall dully noting that her knuckles were bleeding from where she had cut them on pieces of wood. The pain felt rather good to her at the moment, so she simply sat staring at her hand as it bled. Dimly she noted that Cologne was at her side, resting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
That's when her mind decided to place the blame on someone for her new predicament. That guy would have been nice to hit but he was a messenger, and if she started the fight he would win. Cologne on the other hand had come into her house and started talking about the clan as if it was nothing. Thus thought she placed her anger against Cologne and quite effortlessly punched out at the old Amazon, knocking her back a few feet.  
  
Ranma stared dumbfounded at the hole in the wall, the one that housed Kasumi's hand. He was fairly sure that something was not right at this moment. As he watched Cologne hopped over to the girl who now was simply staring at her bleeding fist as if she didn't realize what was happening. 'She must be in shock.'  
  
Ranma was about to go help the girl when she suddenly punched out at the old Amazon knocking her away a few feet. 'What the hell?' He noted that Shampoo had begun to start forward. He blocked her with a glare.  
  
"Don't you dare come near me old woman. Part of this is your fault, and I am very angry at this moment. I would not hesitate to fight with you." Kasumi said in a monotone voice as she stared at Cologne hatefully.  
  
"Do you really wish to fight with me child? I will consent as I can most guess that your summons will mean trouble. But be warned this fight will solve nothing." Colognes words began to penetrate Ranma's brain slowly, as if he wasn't sure he had heard right.  
  
"Sure, why not? At least I'll know if I stand a chance against 'Him'. I may have beat him before but it has been a long time, and he will be stronger." The shock that registered on Cologne's face was undeniable.  
  
"Well, if you managed to beat him once, then you are good." Cologne nodded her head and Kasumi sprang from her spot on the floor to deliver a kick that knocked the old woman outside. Needless to say most jaws had dropped to the floor in disbelief, and more than one person pinched themselves.  
  
Ranma ran through the door to watch the fight in progress, and nearly had a heart attack. Kasumi had somehow managed to change her clothes into those of a ninja even as she fought with the old woman on almost equal footing. He could barely keep track of their movements as they continued to bounce around like super balls. 'Whoa. I didn't know Kasumi could fight at all. This is… too weird.'  
  
His thoughts were interrupted as a slight sound caught his attention. Several figures had appeared out of the darkness to watch the fight as well. He noticed that they seemed to watch Kasumi with an amazing amount of scrutiny, and as he stretched his senses he could hear them talking to each other.  
  
"She has gotten stronger."  
  
"Yes, but she has slowed down as well. That could mean trouble when she fights our lord."  
  
"Will she fight? She barely managed it last time and he has grown more powerful over the years. Her training has been lax."  
  
"She will fight. Any of us would do the same in her place."  
  
"Can you be so sure?"  
  
"I am positive. She wants to live just like any one else."  
  
"Her honor is also on the line, as is our lords. She is the last living heir to our ways. If she fails he still will have time to train another."  
  
"Be quiet we are being watched by the boy."  
  
As one the several figures turned to stare at Ranma, who simply did not comprehend what he had heard. After several seconds they all returned to watching the fight.  
  
It was ended as Kasumi broke through Cologne's staff block and smashed her away and into the pond, landing easily as she connected. A grim smile was on her face, as she waited the woman to reply. Spluttering Cologne came out from under the water and landed easily on one of the rocks.  
  
"Humph. You are better than you look if you could knock me around like that."  
  
"I could do it some more if you like."  
  
"Not necessary. You beat me fair and square; as we dictated before we got into this it was simply a sparring match. The kiss of death will not be given." Cologne replied as she used her chi to dry herself off.  
  
"THE KISS OF DEATH!?" The cry of astonishment caused both combatants to turn to the several figures. "KASUMI-HIME ARE YOU TRYING TO DIE?"  
  
'Kasumi…hime?' several people thought at once.  
  
"…" Kasumi was at a loss for words, as she finally began to register the words the person had yelled. 'Wait a second. No one calls me hime except for my sect… uh oh!'  
  
"Um… what are you guys doing here? I thought you would be in china, not here." Kasumi asked as the figures began to surround her. Ranma noticed that several of the black clad figures were much shorter than Kasumi and one of them was even hugging her leg, crying. 'What is going on here?'  
  
"We came to see you now that you've been tried and all. Because of that we are allowed to spend our time with you and your family before the trial, as long as we don't break any rules." One of the taller figures said as they each took turns to hug the bewildered girl.  
  
"You mean you were allowed to contact me?! Oh no, I am so dead!" Kasumi began to babble things about being grounded and several other painful punishments that only the figures and the attending amazons understood what she was talking about.  
  
"Actually I think it might be because you're the last heir, and also part of our sect. He doesn't want you to fail. He needs you to win the trial by combat so he doesn't have to train someone new."  
  
"Well THAT'S comforting… mumble mumble"  
  
"Kasumi? What's going on? Who are these people?"  
  
"Yeah Onee-chan, tell us what's going on!" Soun and Nabiki were trying to gang up on the hapless girl, who at the moment felt that passing out might improve her situation. The only problem was that if she did things would only get worse for her.  
  
"Um… uh, why don't we all go inside… that way we can talk?" Kasumi was sending 'Help me!' looks to Cologne who simply chuckled slightly even as several thoughts warred within her brain.  
  
'She's the last heir to the dragon clan, and she's being tried for treason. Also her sect is here, in Japan. Things could get ugly, but they did mention that they can't break the rules… this is going to be fun.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Everyone had gone inside and was crowded around the table. Five black clad figures had surrounded Kasumi protectively, as several of the taller ones glared at Cologne and Shampoo warily. The smallest figure sat in the girls lap comfortably. All of them were dressed as ninjas, their hoods up to protect their identities.  
  
"So! Are you going to tell us what's up or not?" Nabiki had decided she REALLY didn't like not knowing what was going on around her.  
  
"Well… you see… hmm how can I put this?" As Kasumi tried to think of a way to say what she wanted the small figure in her lap decided to answer for her.  
  
"We're family! Kasumi-hime is my Onee-chan!" Nabiki just looked skeptically at the young child.  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
Before he could answer again, the little boy's mouth was covered by Kasumi's hand. "I'll tell her, if you don't mind?" The other figures nodded their approval.  
  
"Well…?"  
  
"Well, you see Nabiki… they're… part of my extended family. I guess you can say they adopted me when I was younger. Remember after mothers death, when I went missing?" Kasumi asked her own family, trying to make them understand without giving everything away.  
  
"My Poor Baby Was Kidnapped!" Soun began to wail, surprising only the newcomers. Nabiki nodded yes and Akane nodded no. Both had heard what their father was saying though.  
  
"You were kidnapped by these guys?"  
  
"… Not… kidnapped. Actually it was more of… fulfilling a promise of mothers." Kasumi was trying to be careful with the way she worded this. Nabiki knew this but decided to leave it be. "I was put into their sect, or family and adopted as the oldest girl. I was… trained in… fighting. I left to come home when I was ten, because I missed my real family."  
  
"In other words you won the challenge against 'him'." Cologne stated earning more glares from the black clad figures.  
  
"Yes, I did. And I was allowed to go home. Father found me a few weeks later while I was in the woods." Kasumi seemed to look a little sad, prompting the young one in her lap to hug her.  
  
"Don't cry Onee-chan. Your our princess, you should be happy."  
  
"He is right Kasumi-hime. It is not time to cry."  
  
Nabiki watched these people console her sister with ease, even as they treated her like their princess. Which was another thing… "Why do you keep calling Kasumi your princess?" She watched as Kasumi flinched slightly, and almost felt guilty for some reason she couldn't identify.  
  
" I… I…" a hand on her shoulder caused Kasumi to look up at the woman.  
  
"We call her our princess, because she is. Our leader handpicked her as his youngest heir. He picked her because of the skill she showed at such a young age. Many resented her for this, and others are loyal to her as friends should be."  
  
"You say she is the LAST heir. What happened to the others?" Cologne wanted info and she was going to get it.  
  
"… I'm the last? What happened to them, they were such good fighters?"  
  
"I'm afraid we can not tell outsiders what happened."  
  
"I know…" Kasumi was becoming depressed again. Her three 'brothers' were dead, somehow. They had all been much better than her in many things except stealth and yet she was the last. She almost wanted to laugh at the irony.  
  
"Are you ok Kasumi?" Ranma asked as he watched the girls face cycle through several emotions.  
  
"I'm fine Ranma. Oh! We forgot introductions!" Several people groaned as she said this. However the black clad figures stood as they took off their hoods and revealed their faces. The two older figures were a man and woman, who seemed no older than Soun. The other tall ones were children, no older than Nabiki and Ranma. The girl was shorter and had blue hair, she seemed to be younger. The boy had short brown hair and seemed to be about Nabiki's age.  
  
She eyed the boy appreciatively. Finally the small figure was revealed to be a little boy of no older than ten or eleven years old. He spoke first introducing himself with a bow. "My name is Shin."  
  
Next was the girl. "I am Rieka."  
  
The older boy spoke next. "I am known as Tenshi."  
  
The last two to speak were the older man and woman respectively. "I am Rowan."  
  
"And I am Azusa. We are pleased to meet you all." The others bowed back before they introduced themselves as well. First the Tendo's were introduced and then the Saotome's, and finally the two amazons introduced themselves.  
  
"I am the war-elder Khu-lon of the Joketsozuko tribe of China. And this is my heir and great granddaughter Xian-pu." At this several sharp objects had been loosed from hiding and were being held towards the amazons by the ninjas.  
  
"YOU are the War-elder Khu-lon? Our… tribe has a long standing feud with you." Azusa spoke as she held her katana pointed at Cologne.  
  
"STOP IT!" Everyone looked at Kasumi, who at the moment was glowing a light golden color. "The elder cologne is a guest in this house, as is her granddaughter. No fighting between us shall occur other than a FRIENDLY sparring match that both parties agree upon. Is that clear?"  
  
All the ninjas muttered weak agreements and put away their weapons, leaving Cologne to wonder at the girl's sudden use of the word guest. Especially when she had tried to knock her into orbit earlier in the evening. 'She is something else.'  
  
"Besides even together the elder Khu-lon is quite a match for all of you. You saw us sparring; you know she would beat you. And she was not even using her own little tricks this time either." Kasumi told the people who surrounded her earning the Amazon some slightly skeptical looks.  
  
"Heh. She ain't so tough, you just gotta know how to get around her tricks." Ranma boasted earning himself a mallet in the face courtesy Kasumi.  
  
"Did we ask your opinion, Ranma?" Akane scowled at her fiancée as he sat there rubbing his face.  
  
"Your just jealous you Macho chick! Especially because now even your older sister could kick your but in a-" Ranma's words were cut off as Akane decided he needed to visit the koi pond.  
  
"Akane you really shouldn't have done that. With the kitchen still a mess we can't even heat up water for Ranma to change back." Kasumi said realizing that she would probably have to explain the curse to her sect.  
  
"Change back? What do you mean by that Kasumi-Chan?" Tenshi asked his 'sister' even as he watched the now girl Ranma pop up from the koi pond grumbling about macho chicks.  
  
"Ranma, Mr. Saotome, and Xian-pu here all have Jusenkyo curses. Ranma turns into a girl, Mr. Saotome a panda, and Xian-pu a cat." Only the ninjas seemed to notice that Ranma-chan had gone rigid at the word cat. "Sorry Ranma. There are no cat's around I was just explaining your curses."  
  
Soun eventually had stopped crying long enough to ask what he thought was an important question. "Excuse me, Ms. Azusa, Mr. Rowan, would you please tell me what my daughter was like while she was with you? I would like to know some of the things that happened to my baby girl."  
  
"I suppose we could tell you a few stories. Like the time she tried to scale the cliff by herself, she ended up stuck there in nothing but her underwear for over two hours. It seems she was trying to sneak about to scare Tenshi for a joke he had played on her. It was quite hilarious actually." Azusa told Soun and the others who were listening, the highly embarrassing story of how she had done this or that, to get back at Tenshi for this or that.  
  
Both teenagers were blushing bright red in embarrassment. At one point in time they began to quarrel over the details of a joke they had played on each other. It was so sickeningly sweet that Nabiki had a hard time choosing between throwing up and laughing her ass off. She eventually chose the latter as did everyone else. Especially when the two sect parents began bringing out photographs of their children.  
  
"Oh no… can we please not show photos? Please?" Kasumi, Tenshi and Rieka were on the floor begging to keep the others from seeing the embarrassing baby pictures and such.  
  
"If you can beat us in a fight, maybe we'll think about it children." That of course is when they made their mistake as they pushed Kasumi forward and declared at the same time, 'if she beats us in one on five we get to keep our pictures!'  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"You can do it Kasumi onee-chan!" Shin said even as they ALL filed into the dojo to watch the action.  
  
"Aghh. Why do I have to fight five on one?"  
  
"Because Kasumi-Chan, you're the heir which means you are very good."  
  
"Alright we get to see Kasumi in action. Hey Kasumi if you win this I wanna spar you some time!" Ranma said as they lined up against the walls to watch the fight.  
  
All five ninjas surrounded Kasumi and then attacked. Every few seconds he would lose sight of one of them as they seemed to disappear. Ranma heard his father whisper 'umi-sen-ken' and figured that he was talking about the stealth technique he had told Ranma about the other day.  
  
In less than five minutes though, only two fighters remained moving. Tenshi and Kasumi were going at it even faster than she and Cologne had been fighting. That or they were using some weird techniques that kept making them blur like that. Tenshi had a good defense but a much better offense while Kasumi was better at dodging almost everything and being able to get through the small openings in his defense. At least that was his opinion.  
  
It was proven correct as Tenshi was suddenly sent flying towards the wall, only to flip around to rebound off of it with his feet. Halfway back to Kasumi he just disappeared confusing everyone, everyone except Kasumi and Cologne. Suddenly Kasumi threw a snap kick at the area just above her head and to the left of her, to send Tenshi flying once more. This time he landed on his feet.  
  
"You got better Tenshi-Chan."  
  
"Yeah, and you got slower. Is your age finally catching up to you?" He joked, only to have to begin to dodge a host of seriously fast and amazingly complex attacks. Sadly to say he began to let himself get trapped into a pattern, and was thrown to the wall for failing to realize this as he went to jump a sweeping kick only to be punched instead.  
  
"I may seem slower, but that's because you got dumber."  
  
"Ouch. You win… hey we get to keep our pictures!" Tenshi managed to jump up and run over to his recovering guardians, demanding he be given his pictures as per the agreement.  
  
After it was over, Ranma came over and practically began begging Kasumi to spar with him for a little while. When she flat out refused him he began to cry. This being a VERY sad sight she agreed and they sparred. Only Ranma seemed to stick to the less tricky stuff and was thrown time and time again for his efforts.  
  
After about the hundredth time being thrown into the far wall he gave up and they went inside to talk of other things. Embarrassing stories from both families kept the house filled with laughter for several hours into the night. But finally it was time to sleep and time for Kasumi's adopted family to leave for their own home. And all through the night not a single thing was revealed about the clan that the five ninjas belonged to. For they were very good at keeping their secrets.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was well after midnight and as hot as ever in the Tendo home. Kasumi lay tossing and turning in her bed as nightmares began to assail her, of her upcoming trial. Only her father had ever been told anything about what had happened while she was captured. And it had only been lies that she was forced to feed him for their own safety. These thoughts kept her trapped in the realm of nightmares as she slumbered fitfully.  
  
A faint noise caught the attention of her subconscious, telling her that there was something in her room. As if that was a cue she bolted upright in bed, covered in sweat and looking about madly as she tried to realize that she was ok. Sighing she closed her eyes as she sat and began to tell her self that it was only a dream.  
  
"[It was a nightmare for your crimes.]" The voice startled Kasumi, as she began looking for its source her muscles ready to propel her away from her spot.  
  
"[Who are you?]"  
  
"[I am here to lead you to the trial. Our master has decreed it be held in Japan, and he wishes it to be done with before long. Come it is almost dawn and the others must not come.]" The messenger said as he motioned Kasumi to get up. His figure marked as a shadow against the floor in the moonlight. Warily she got up and without more than a glare at the unwelcome visitor dressed quickly in her clothes from before.  
  
"[I'm ready. Lead me to fate.]" She spoke the words taught to her long ago. And they left. As the shadows that represented them disappeared you could hear her voice speaking quietly. "[You could have looked away, hentai…]" 


End file.
